Major Takeaways

8 lessons in Mrs. Abbas' Food and Nutrition class, here are some major takeaways that I had, and I'm sure this would stick with me for the rest of my life.

1) Me eats PRETTY FOOD!
When cooking for anyone, from your mother to your future boyfriend to yourself, we need to rememeber that the presentation of our food is very important. The food presented must look good enough to encourage others to take their first bite into your food, it must make them fantasize about the taste of your food with one look and to achieve this, there must be colour, smell, garnishing and presentation.

Colour, of course, no burnt bits, must look appetizing for instance, a blood red spagetthi sauce would look better than a brownish, uneven sauce, and slightly tainted brown rice would look better than white rice.

Smell, well, most of the time is determined by the taste of your food so make sure it tastes good!

Garnishing, you have to think about colour schemes, the mix and match of food, the "context" of the food, for instance you garnish your brownies with a scoop of ice cream and a cherry on top to create layers and fried rice for instacne, can be garnished with something red as red complements the brown of the rice.

Finally, presentation is important. You must not overwhelm your customers with too much of food. If food is slightly more, serve it on a large plate, leave much area around the food (which can be used for garnishing) to give the food a touch of delicateness.

2) Look at all those things called...FATS. TRANS FATS. 
Fats are present almost anywhere and everywhere. While we only focus on our daily calories intake, thinking that as long as we stick to the maximum amount is alright but we have never wondered how much fats are present in the food. Fats is not always equivalent to calories as some fats may be trans fat which cannot be burnt off as quickly as regular fats and cannot be absorbed by the body for bodily functions as well. With these Food and Nutrition lessons, I have alerted my mum to take note of the amount of trans fat in foods that she buys. Foods with less transfat may be slightly expensive but it is definitely comparable to the consequent damages to the body if there is too much trans fat intake, which may lead to blocked arteries, high blood pressure, risk of heart attacks and strokes, high cholestrol level and so much more.

3) Woohooo! Get me high!!! SUGARY GOODNESS? Maybe not!
Sugar makes everyone happy. When you're down, you eat chocolates, ice creams, cakes, candies, and you'll feel much better eh? Sugar may make you happy, but it doesn't fill you, and neither does it do you good with excess of it. Sugar is high in calorie content and if you don't burn it off in time, they would collect into fats and we all know what happens with that above!

Try looking for alternatives in sugar which gives you the same amount of sugary goodness and energy but comes from natural means, such as fruits! Grapes provides you the same amount of sugar as a bottle of coke, but contains much lesser calories as the sugar came from glucose, the product of a natural process. Not only that, it provides you with dietary fiber which we will look into next! -->

4) Vegetables and Fruits? I'm allergic. Think again. DIETARY FIBER.
Youngsters detest fruits and vegetables, many claiming to have never eaten them since they were eight. I used to be like them, but since these Food and Nutrition Lessons, I have bene encouraging myself to eat two servings of fruits every night. I am not a big fan of vegetables so I would try my best to get at least one serving per day. But I'm absolutely fine with fruits! If you hate vegetables, try making up for the dietary fiber loss using fruits. Explore all sorts of fruits and find your favourite few, eat them often, and consuming dietary fiber would not be a chore! Without enough dietary fiber,some common symptoms are gas and bloating, iregular bowl movment, and constipation. In some worse cases it could lead to diverticulosis, high blood cholesterol, and colon and breast cancer. Low fiber intake, along with a high calorie diet, has been linked with causing obesity as well. Quoting Mrs. Abbas, "Why suffer all that pain when all you need to do now is eat more vegetables and fruits?" Exactly, that suffering isn't worth it!

5) No snacks? Impossible. What about....CALORIES?!
To lower your calorie intake, no one said you had to give up your delicious snacks, which for many of us is the fuel for us to stay up late rushing out our project and assignments. All you have to do is make some changes to it! Potato chips, cheese sticks of course is irresistable and is acceptable, just take in mild moderation. Other times, replace these dry snacks with fruits! They can be dried fruits such as raisins, or fresh bite-sized fruits such as cherries, strawberries and grapes. Try fruit yoghurts which helps your digestive system too and replace soda with fruit juices or vitamin water! Its easy! Take a look round the supermarket and you'll find many things as delicious and chips and crackers.

Look how much you difference you can make to your lifestyle with these painless adaptations. It will take some time but once you get used to it, it would be part of your life and the benefits are everlasting! Spread these information to your family; the best way for you to love them is to give them a healthy life!